A dessert often seen at our ohana gatherings is ambrosia salad. It is usually made with fruit, which we avoid on keto. However, the rest of the ingredients are quite keto friendly. If you are looking for a Hawaii keto friendly dessert that’s creamy and refreshing, you’ve come to the right spot. My Nana (Dad’s mom), Mama (Mom’s mom), Mom, and a few Aunties would always bring an ambrosia salad to the ohana potluck.
A regular ambrosia salad will have fruit cocktail or mandarin oranges in it. However, if you have a few carbs to spare, I suggest mixing in fresh strawberries. This dessert recipe is so nostalgic for me. Its almost as if ambrosia was part of the default family menu list and everyone took turns making their own versions. This makes a great keto dessert and will last about a week.
A Hawaii keto local Dessert Recipe for the Carb Conscious Counter
Cool whip is the main ingredient of this recipe. When creating this recipe, I looked into using Cool Whip’s sugar free version and discovered that although it was sugar free, it was so high in carbs weighing in at 3 total carbs per serving (with each serving being 2 tablespoons each). Not to mention, it also included a lot of additional ingredients that I can’t pronounce! I started researching options and learned that its best to make your own cool whip by using heavy whipping cream. Yes, heavy whipping cream is still high in carbs (in my opinion), but it makes a much cleaner option when comparing the ingredients to that of sugar free Cool Whip. If you are new to the ketogenic lifestyle, you will find many keto recipes call for heavy whipping cream. It is a keto diet staple! When creating your own whipped cream, you will have to blend the heavy whipping cream in a food processor. I have found that I need to blend for exactly and consistently one minute. PRO TIP:
Do not over blend the heavy whipping cream. If you blend for too long, you will end up with the consistency of butter!
The next ingredient is sugar free Jello. If you follow my recipes, you will see that I use a lot of sugar free Jello. I just can’t help it. I recall seeing my aunties arrive to our ohana paina (family party) with some type of jello dessert. I’ve seen my aunties bring broken glass jello, avocado jello, haupia (which is similar to jello), ambrosia, or even jello cream cheese pie, the possibilities are endless with jello. I am proud to say that I am slowly but surely converting all of these nostalgic recipes into keto friendly options.
The final ingredient is cottage cheese. Cottage cheese is another keto friendly ingredient to keep around as it makes a great snack option! Top it with some berries, add a dash of sweetener, and BOOM KANANI, you get one good snack. Like everything, cottage cheese is not created equal, so find the one that best fits your macros.
As always, take care and aloha!
Keto Ambrosia – A Hawaii Dessert Recipe
Equipment
- Food Processor
Ingredients
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 box sugar free Jello I used Strawberry, but pick your favorite flavor!
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
Instructions
- Blend the heavy whipping cream (HWC) in the food processor for 1 minute, or until stiff peaks begin to form, sprinkle the Jello into the food processor while the HWC is blending
- Remove the HWC/Jello mixture from the food processor and fold in the cottage cheese
- Refrigerate until chilled and enjoy